Organizations today are incorporating interactive training into their learning and development strategies, moving away from the traditional model of classroom-based, instructor-led training. Interactive training has proven to be more effective in terms of delivering quality output. Watching a training video without any interaction makes the trainees mere spectators and passive learners. Whereas regular interactions and participation ensure that the users are actively involved in the learning, and helps them stay engaged.

In 2017, the total U.S. training expenditure– including payroll and spending on external products and services, rose significantly, increasing 32.5 percent to $90.6 billion. Overall, on average, companies spent $1,075 per learner in 2017 compared to $814 per learner in 2016. While companies are investing an exorbitant sum to train their employees, it would all be futile if these employees are unable to retain and process the information received.

People tend to remember things more vividly when they are involved in the action. Surgeons don’t start operating on a patient after watching a couple of surgery videos. Similarly, employees in a corporate environment must have hands-on experience and must clearly understand the process before undertaking the actual work. Interactive corporate training ensures that the trainees are not just watching the content, but are actively participating.

Listed below are some of the benefits of interactive corporate training:

1. Retaining Attention Spans:

Employees’ shrinking attention span demands that organizations create content that keeps the audience engaged. While the traditional training method can’t really guarantee if the learner is really listening, regular interactions and conversations will ensure that the participant is paying attention to what is being taught.

2. Information Retention:

Making learners aware beforehand that there will be pop-up quizzes encourages them to pay attention and makes them more receptive to the information. Conducting impromptu quizzes and undertaking Q&A sessions in between the training will keep the trainees engaged and help in analyzing if they’ve thoroughly grasped and understood the content.

3. Increases Engagement through Interactive Elements:

Including interactive elements such as drag and drop, multiple choice, click and display, true or false etc. in the training material increases user engagement. Interactive content ensures a highly engaging user experience and enhances the impact of the training delivered.

4. Real-time Feedback:

Interactive corporate training makes instant evaluation possible. Participants can receive real-time feedback for the answers submitted on the training portal. It also enables managers to track the progress of individual employees. In case of Q&A sessions and pop-up quizzes, the trainer can gauge the level of understanding of the trainees and proceed accordingly.

5. Motivation through Gamification:

Gamification motivates people to perform better. Introducing gaming elements such as a leader board or scoreboard creates a competitive environment, encouraging participants to perform and score well. Awarding points for each achievement and providing badges as rewards inspires the trainees to enhance their performance in the next task.

6. Improves Problem Solving Skills:

Simulation and virtual training environments are risk-free and hence participants are free to test their skills in an online environment. There’s no harm even if they commit a mistake. Participants can implement their knowledge in virtual scenarios and get real-time feedback. This will help them avoid mistakes in a real-world scenario. This exercise helps in developing problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

7. Team Building:

Form small groups and give them a task to perform or assign a case study for discussion. When everyone works towards a common goal, it leads to brainstorming and creation and amalgamation of different ideas, which in turn would lead to the implementation of the best possible solution. This helps build communication within the team and promotes healthy debates to address problems and find solutions.

Improving the training approach helps build a productive workforce, hence organizations today are implementing effective training strategies with an aim to enhance the skills of their employees and optimize their productivity. Interactive training provides an immersive and engaging learning experience for them. It helps learners retain information and apply them at appropriate situations, and also prepares them for future roles and responsibilities by developing their interpersonal and problem-solving skills. An interactive session makes the training more fun and enjoyable compared to traditional training methods.